Friedrich --

As you know, I've spent some time on this blog wondering out loud about the ways and mores of libertarians. Many of my own political preferences, such as they are, tend in that direction -- so I've been surprised by how dogmatic and utopian some real-life libertarians can be.

Michael Serafin, who visits this blog occasionally, wrote in to describe his own experience of dancing on the libertarian side of the ballroom:

From 1995 to early 2001, I was a registered, dues-paying, card-carrying member of the Libertarian Party. You may have read that the LP is now on the verge of bankruptcy, due to internal scandals. Being in the LP is a lot like being in a fantasy role-playing group. They are both about as relevant to the real world. A lot of them are Ayn Rand acolytes. I still keep track of their activities. I even co-founded an LP activist group in '95, which is still going. They, like the Green Party, are now just political spoilers, and they are proud of it. They think they are making progress. They declare "moral victory" every election cycle. Now, I'm a registered Unenrolled, who votes Republican, but will vote Libertarian if there is no competent Republican on the ballot. The GOP has their own Libertarian wing, which I'm looking into.

Ah: "a fantasy role-playing group." Now I understand things a little better.

Many thanks to Michael Serafin.

Best,

Michael